CleanTech News

WakaWaka solar lamp makes its debut

(Nanowerk News) Starting today, the world’s most efficient solar lamp becomes available to the American public through several of the nation’s largest online retailers and specialty outlets. Largely unknown to many in this country until recently, the WakaWaka Solar Lamp makes its debut after a very successful Kickstarter promotion completed in February. Patented solar technology enables WakaWaka to produce over 16 hours of excellent reading light on less than a day solar charge, which is unprecedented.

What do President Clinton, Janet Jackson, Walmart, Amazon, the Masaï people of Kenya and thousands of others have in common? They all love the WakaWaka Solar Lamp and the business model on which it is built. “Yes, the design is dramatic, the technology is patented and the charging time ratio of 8 hours sunlight versus 16 hours reading light is amazing, but even more powerful is the business model created to help bring light to the 1.5 Billion people in the world living in darkness”, says Eric Clare, CEO of Digital Concepts 2.0, the exclusive distributor for WakaWaka in the USA.

Off-Grid Solutions (OGS)headquartered in the Netherlands is the creator of WakaWaka. They set out to find a solution for roughly 20 percent of the world’s population who still live in darkness every night of the week. They depend on toxic, expensive and dangerous kerosene lamps. Every day 16,000 people are severely burned as a result of accidents with these lamps. Off-Grid Solutions came up with a hi-tech, hi quality product providing the amount of light families need who live at the so-called economic ‘Base of the Pyramid’ living off less than $2 a day.

Americans demand quality, hi-tech products but also have a growing desire to make a meaningful impact on the world around them. This led to the idea of creating a cool, useful, best of breed solar lamp that could be fairly priced in the U.S. with profits enabling a subsidy for families living at the bottom of the pyramid. “We wanted to find a way to enable people to provide support not charity. No hand outs, rather a leveling of the playing field, making safe light finally affordable for people living at subsistence level,” stated Camille van Gestel, OGS business director. “These are ideas and results that are remembered for a lifetime ultimately altering relations between countries and their people.”

This gift of light has a profound impact on people’s lives. Study results show significant benefits: families save up to 20% of their income which was previously spent on lighting fuels, burn incidents are a thing of the past. The World Bank researched the impact of solar LED lighting on the pass rate for students. Two years after introduction of the solar lamps the pass rate improved from 57% to 100%. The average school grade rose from ‘unsatisfactory’ with 35% to ‘above average’.

WakaWaka is more than just an efficient solar lamp. It is a story; a solar lamp on a mission. We have seen the resolve of U.S. citizens from abroad and hope they will lead the world in bringing light to those in the dark, while enjoying the benefits of WakaWaka Solar Lamp in their own lives.

About Off-Grid Solutions

Founded in 2011, Off-Grid Solutions (OGS) develops, engineers, manufactures and markets the most efficient lighting and phone charging solar based products for consumers worldwide under the registered brand name “WakaWaka” (which means ‘shine bright’ in Swahili). Initially funded through US based Kickstarter, WakaWaka has received interest from over 75 countries from around the globe. In 2011 OGS made a pledge to the Clinton Global Initiative to distribute at least 1 million WakaWaka’s in the next few years and educate a similar number of students in becoming ‘Climate Heroes’. Heads of state and celebrities are starting to rally behind WakaWaka, supporting it’s mission to light up the planet with safe, reliable and affordable lighting. Digital Concepts 2.0 is the exclusive distributor of WakaWaka in the U.S.